Gene Of Isis

Mystique Trilogy #1

by Traci Harding

Mia Montrose is a 21st-century Australian woman with a Doctorate in Ancient Languages who has just scored the most promising job of her career.

When Mia experiences mysterious happenings and forces beyond her control, she begins to understand that history does not always stay in the past.

Ashlee Granville is a 19th-century clairvoyant, forced to suppress her talents as she enters the marriage market of English upper-class society. But Ashlee is not a girl who likes to bow to the inevitable - she has plans of her own.

Lillet du Lac is a 13th-century woman, priestess of an ancient order now protected by the Cathar faith, who are making their last stand against the Roman Catholic Franks at the giant hill fort of Montségur. As the castle falls, Lillet escapes with something more valuable than any of their lives ...

Despite the time, distance and cultures that separate them, these women share several things in common. They belong to an ancient bloodline of Grail kings, protected by a Sion knight named Albray, and they are each compelled to visit an ancient mountain in the Sinai. This mount contains the keys which may unlock a gateway to a dimension of light and the Gene of Isis

Genres: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Science Fiction, Romance, Time Travel, Paranormal

621 pages, Paperback

First published February 22, 2005

About the author

Traci Harding, is an Australian science-fantasy author who currently has twelve books in publication, on the Voyager label of HaperCollins Publishers Australia.

Her work blends fantasy, fact, esoteric belief, time travel and quantum physics, into adventurous romps through history, ulternative dimensions, universes and states of consciousness.


The Ancient Future Trilogy
Book 1 -The Ancient Future 1996
Book 2 -An Echo in Time 1997
Book 3 - Masters of Reality 1998

Stand Alone Novels
The Alchemists Key 1998
Book of Dreams 2002
Ghostwriting 2003

The Celestial Triad
Book 1 – Chronicle of Ages 1999
Book 2 – Tablet of Destinies 2000
Book 3 – The Cosmic Logos 2001

The Mystique Trilogy
Book 1 – Gene of Isis 2005
Book 2 – The Dragon Queens 2007
Book 3 – The Black Madonna 2008


Triad of Being
Book 1 - Being of the Field 2009
Book 2 - The Universe Parallel 2010
Book 3 - The Light Field 2012

The Time Keepers
Book 1 - Dreaming of Zhou Gong 2013
Book 2 - Forthcoming
Book 3 - Forthcoming

The Ancient Future is currently listed on both the Dymock’s Top 101 Books. Along with The Alchemist's Key, The Ancient Future has been published in Complex Chinese for worldwide release.

The first book of the Mystique Trilogy -Gene of Isis is now to be published in Russian, Czech, Slavic, Greek and Romanian, as is book two The Dragon Queens.

Reviews

[Anne Holcomb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I've read by Traci Harding, and I definitely see more in my future. Gene of Isis is like a crazy combination of Indiana Jones, the Da Vinci Code, Regency romance, and science lesson all blended up and packaged into an intergenerational, feminist adventure story. Mia is an archaeologist studying ancient languages who's invited to a dig sponsored by a mysterious billionaire. The stories of her ancestors, Ashlee - a young wife in Regency England - and Lillet - a priestess of an obscure French religious sect who lived in the Middle Ages - are told as Mia reads through their memoirs. It's obvious that the author did tons of research for this book which is overstuffed with obscure facts and ideas. I listened to the first book on audio but I think I'd opt for print for the rest of the series, because there is so much explanation. At times it gets repetitious, but at other times it's helpful because so many crazy concepts and ideas are introduced. If you like stories where everyday life and the supernatural combine, you will enjoy this book. Also, Albray the ghost knight is my new fictional-guy crush - he's adorable :)

[Jessica Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Quite frankly, I struggled past the first few chapters. Don't get me started on the whole Dr. Rosen thing, or the fact that the characters felt like cardboard cutouts. Particularly for the main heroines, the dialouge was indistinguishable, the characterisation/character development nonexistent. They were hard to relate to, let alone believable. While I understand how difficult it is to create sympathetic characters with a premise like the one in this book, it came off as though Harding wasn't trying at all. Also, the constant use of exclamation marks, particularly in narrative passages, annoyed me to no end - not every other line needs to be punctuated with a "!".

I won't be reading the other books in the Mystique trilogy, not after having to endure this abomination. I was so disappointed; the premise of this book was brilliant and had potential to be a fantastic story. Instead, we get three unidentifiable heroines, useless, contrived dialogue, and a storyline and ending that fall short of readers' expectations.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice to read a book on the Grail with an all female cast, where the men play second.
Good book to read and get a little lost in. Light and a easy read.

[Cam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admit I only picked up this novel (and the other two in the trilogy) because I've seen it in the bookstore many many times and thought the covers lovely.

It started off a little slow and not at all that riveting but I must say once the proverbial ball got rolling it kept on doing so. Surprised to find out it is one of the other Grail/Christ bloodline fiction books out there.

For the most part I kept wondering who the woman on the front cover was meant to be and it annoyed me to all hell that the reader doesn't get a description of Ashlee until after 4 or 5 (longish) chapters since it was in first person narration.

The writing was quite good but the 21st century voice of the author (who I have the suspicion has invested herself in Mia Montrose being blond and Australian) sometimes bled into the speech of the 19th Century characters and Lillet, though rarely. Over all it was a good, entertaining read seeing as I started late last night and finished today.

As a devout and religious Catholic I don't mind reading about the supposed secrets of the Church and the alleged bloodline of Christ but at times, fleetingly but still there, this book did irritate me. It could have been the way it was written but this is just an observation.

[Amie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book in highschool (12 years ago!) and rediscovered it on my book shelf recently. A re-read confirmed that I wasn't misremembering how much I loved it. The characters are well rounded, the adventure kicks off pretty much from page 1 and doesn't stop, and the story, the characters, and the inspiration this book carries are nestled in your heart by the time you finish. Can't wait to re-read the other two books in the trilogy.

[Mikaela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have to say that this is one of my favourite books of all time. The plot is amazing, and the stories seem to flow perfectly into one another. I loved this book from the first page to the last!

Not to mention that Albray is the perfect guy *sighs*. If only he were real.

[Joy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting if you enjoy alternative spiritual/occult themes plus a light romance.

[Evelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite a couple bits of chewy information (which I still appreciated), I absolutely loved this read!!! Can't wait to get into the rest of this series!

[Deb Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wordy.

[April Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was such a fantastic adventure from start to finish! The main character Ashlee is a wonderfully strong woman with great wit and power, as well as some great one liners that had me cackling. I feel the relationships between characters, their connection and their personalities are wonderfully crafted, and as the story progresses you feel a deep love for all of them! The book creates this amazing journey for the reader, starting off creepy and hair raising, and shifting to adventure/mystery. The romance was sweet, however I wanted more (but that’s just my opinion). But I will say that the imagery created from Traci’s descriptions transport and intoxicate you! I am very late to reading this book, but it will now have a forever spot on my bookshelf!

[Knižný (Valéria Scholtzová) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Celkom OK. Prvý diel bol v pohode, len tam bolo na môj vkus priveľa romantiky, ale našťastie ešte na únosnej úrovni. Jediné, čo mi naozaj vadí, je kopa ezoterických teórií, v ktorých som sa po čase začala strácať. Fakty, ktoré mali pomáhať odhaliť šokujúce udalosti, boli rozpísané chaoticky a tak som si ich len prečítala a počkala, kým mi nejaká postava v jednej vete vysvetlí, aký dopad daná vec bude mať na celkový dej. Túto trilógiu by som v skratke popísala ako spojenie Múmie, Indiana Jonesa, Draculu a Da Vinciho kódu dokopy, pričom cieľovou skupinou sú romanticky založené duše.

[Adi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Appalling historical mistakes and stupid dialogue didn't stop me from lapping this yarn up. Guess I'll be reading part 2 shortly.

[Becci · Rating 5 out of 5]

mystery, history and archeology meet - two generations must work to save their future

wow, that sounds dramatic - seriously though, it's a great read. adventure, romance, comedy and history.

[Kris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just got bored halfway though and I'm not interested enough in the story and/or the characters to continue reading so.... dropped.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a superb audio reading. I loved the strong female protagonists and an interesting plot blended with Arthurian legends, vampire, supernatural, gypsies and religion.

[Skye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven’t read this book in a very, very, very long time. As in probably not since high school. When, to be honest, a lot of the intricacies of this storyline went a little over my head. So reading this amazing, amazing novel for the second time when I have much more knowledge… well, it was an absolutely awe inspiring treat. One that I was incredibly sad when it ended… so luckily there are two more intensely complex stories in this trilogy.

There are not many stories in which I appreciate having a dual timeline. Mostly I find that they tend to be a little clunky and I’ll become highly attached to one character, which means that I tend to get annoyed and frustrated when the timeline flicks. However, I felt equally drawn to all three women in this storyline. They had distinct journeys and personalities that were all impossible to walk away from. They each had their own struggles which mirrored each other, but also managed to be completely distinct. Not an easy trait judging from all of the stories which I’ve disliked due to their dual timelines.

One of the things I’ve always loved about Harding’s work is that the leads are always Australian, and more often than not, strong women in their late twenties and early thirties. The age that I’m currently at. I love anything that utilises Australian culture in an honest and open way. So the fact that Mia, who most of the story ends up revolving around is Australian, from an English heritage… well, there is a lot that I have in common with her. Which, of course, makes it all the more difficult to put down the storyline, even when jumping across centuries and continents.

There is an insane amount of complexity in this storyline. Not just because of the time jumps and three parallel timelines. But also because of the intricate ties between religion and philosophy. Science and spirituality. Harding manages to tie so many pieces of reality together in a way that feels completely plausible and realistic. It makes it all that much harder to return to reality when you turn the very last page of this story.

[Socrate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cei care m-au cunoscut în cursul vieţii v-ar zice că m-am născut în 1817, în zorii epocii motoarelor cu aburi. Ca unică fiică a baronului de Suffolk, onorabilul lord Granville, aţi crede că n-aş avea de ce mă plânge în privinţa primilor ani ai copilăriei mele. Să mă fi născut conformista pe care şi-au dorit-o părinţii mei, n-aş fi avut niciun necaz cu ei şi nu i-aş fi făcut nicicând „de ruşine”, aşa cum s-a întâmplat. Să fi fost fiul şi moştenitorul numelui pe care şi l-a dorit tata, tot aş fi fost la cuţite cu el, iar numele meu ar fi fost tot Ashlee Granville, doar că prenumele s-ar fi terminat într-un „y”. Îndrăznesc să spun că tare mi-ar fi plăcut libertatea cuvântului acordată în virtutea sexului masculin, dar chiar şi aşa, percepţiile şi părerile mele tot ar fi fost ignorate.
Căci ceea ce credeam odinioară a fi fost dezacordul tatălui meu ştiu acum că erau doar frica şi vinovăţia lui, de care nu s-ar fi eliberat prin niciun mijloc de convingere. N-a fost vina mea că m-am născut cu darul de a vedea cele nevăzute în toţi şi în toate. Mai mult, a fost o condiţie preliminară a educaţiei mele să nu-i sufăr pe bigoţi, pe mincinoşi, pe şarlatani şi pe ipocriţi. Cine ar putea sta cu mâinile în sân, privind senin cum asemenea creaturi îi duc de nas pe oamenii cumsecade, distrându-se pe seama lor? În niciun caz eu.

[Tyson Andrews · Rating 2 out of 5]

Random Bookshelf Read 1: (Lana and I decided to randomly select a book from our physical tbr of 600ish books to read.)

I was clearly not the target audience for this book but enjoyed it for what it was. It honestly read exactly like the plot of the assassins creed games to the point it I feel like Ubisoft might have just yoinked a lot of this for their game...

The Good:
-Writing was smooth and felt very easy to follow with vivid descriptions.
-POV switches felt well paced and timed.
-The main romance of the book was well done.
-Ghost knight character.

The Bad:
-Pretty much all the characters felt one note and cardboard.
-The limits of the powers where never explained and would change to suit the plot often.
-The ties to real history and the paranormal felt like the author just threw everything in the pot at once.
- The mystery elements where so convoluted the characters had to constantly re-explain through dialogue.
- Book felt about 300 pages too long.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I really did. Women with extraordinary gifts, in various points of history. Sounds cool.

I loved her Ancient Future series. But after reading this book i'm wondering whether it was a 'time and a place' thing. If I read her Ancient Future series today - would I even feel the same way? Not sure.

The main thing that kept me from enjoying this book was a 'romance' without chemistry or explanation, or even a reason for being. It just felt weird.

And the other thing that got me was anachronistic 'thinking' by one of the main characters. I can appreciate she may have been progressive for her time...but there is progressive - and then there is blatantly transferring modern thought onto someone who lived centuries ago.

I did finish the book, but had no desire to then go and get book two of the series.

[Livia Wren · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have to believe the author's editor was on sick leave for a full calendar year, as I can see this wasn't self-published - the other option.

It's trying to provide an alternative history to the Bible and the bloodline of Jesus, à la Dan Brown's "the Da Vinci Code", and yet suffers from being ten times longer than it should be, with a pretentious air that feels as if the author is taking every opportunity to pat themselves on the back for how clever they are - and every opportunity is entirely undeserved.

The inclusion of psychic ability through the bloodline is an essential element to the story - without it, I doubt we'd be able to get to the end of each sentence, let alone progress the plot. A paper bag would be an insurmountable barrier for both author and cast without this divine assistance.

I have read some crap recently, but this was the worst of the lot, and the fact that there are two more novels after this is an affront to literature.

I will not be finishing this series in lieu of something more appealing. Maybe I'll finally read Wild Animus.

[Teri B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was astonished how much the psychic touch this book comes with and the storyline that runs over centuries with three different female main characters appealed to me.

The story at the beginning was most captivating. I found the 19th century female main character really intriguing and it was interesting to follow her story line.

The character I found most difficult to engage with was the one covering the 20th/21st century. This possibly is part due to the fact that the character seems just too dumb to recognise the obvious and seems completely disconnected from her own feelings, perceptions, body and psychic family traits/heritage. It is a trope that I do not really like and in my opinion it is difficult to get it written right & convincingly.

As regards the audiobook, to be honest, I am not a fan of this narrator, even if she comes highly praised. However, I kept going and finished the book.

And, please, check for trigger warnings.

[Emma Tomlinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I could give this book less than one star I would. While I have nothing against the authors writing ability did in fact make it to about page 200 before I DNFd the book. I did so for the simple reason that once again someone felt it was alright to take potshots at Christianity and write something on the basis that Jesus Christ had been a due that deceived everybody by faking the crucification akd in fact went on to marry Mary Magdalene and have children with her. Why take this wonderful story that I was loving and then ruin it with things like that? I know that people reading this review or even reading this book do not share the Christian faith and so this may not be a sticking point for you but it was.

[Rebecca Kent · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all Traci Harding books, the story line is generally sound and enjoyable but the books themselves are 100 pages too long.
I constantly find myself skipping large chunks of the background ‘history lesson’ portions as they tend to detract from my enjoyment of the story as they are (in my opinion) far too verbose.
I love historical fiction, but prefer the style where it’s woven succinctly in to the tale itself and not the commercial break style Traci seems to employ : ‘and now we break from our main story to hear 3 pages from our historical sponsors’ .

[Kammy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The beginning of this book was so intriguing and unique that it was easily going to be a 5 star book. Sadly though the relationships then got hurried/explained instead of felt; and a firehose of ancient biblical information came at me so fast that I got lost. It doesn’t offend me that this contradicts a lot of religions beliefs. It’s hard to know what happened truthfully here in America just 50 years ago. I can’t imagine our knowledge of ancient times is really accurate or well understood.

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fast paced & erudite read. Traci's writing style is character driven & sets a straight forward tone which takes the reader on a roller coaster ride. I must say this year has been a wonderful odyssey into the domain of Australian Fantasy Authors who are consistently delivering innovative & intoxicating stories. I've already started book 2 of this trilogy.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three women living in different centuries discover who their souls really are, and that they are all connected to the bloodline of Jesus Christ. Each woman tells their own story from current day, to 16 or 17th Century, to medieval times. I found this book quite fascinating and have read some about the ideas in this book. Would recommend reading.

[Dee Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Audiobook. This started off so good, however then became meandering. The narration was done very well. This story is about women from the line of Isis and their destiny. Had this been half the length, it may well have been a five star read for me.

[Nikki Balzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was a bit frustrated with the back and forth of different diaries and keeping track of which era I was reading about but still a rollicking good tale. My local library doesn't have the next one in the series so I'll have to do some op shop hunting...

[Abbey · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF - I struggled something ferocious through the chapters and eventually put it down.

[Alina Geambasu · Rating 5 out of 5]

O poveste intortocheata, dar pe atat de spectaculoasa!